Getting Onboard with Video, and Getting Video Right

Video is Hot

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then what is a video worth? I would have to guess, a lot.

Increasingly, brands are using video to tell their story.  A 2011 report by Social Media Examiner indicated 77% of marketers planned on increasing usage of YouTube and video marketing, making it the top area of investment.   There are also many low cost and free avenues to market the video through social media. 

Getting it Right

So the consumer demand is high and channels to reach consumers are efficient, but what about the quality of the content?  How do brands know if they are getting it right?  They may be asking themselves several questions before they launch their video:

• Will the spot appeal to my audience?
• Will the spot be memorable?
• Is the spot a good brand fit?
• Will the consumers be motivated to act (seek to learn more about the product, or even make a purchase)?

All of these are good questions, and there are several other areas of exploration that can be used depending on the goals of the video.  Traditional research methods would most likely fall short for marketers in terms of speed, cost, and  amount of their time needed to work with the research partner to gain the insight.

This is one of many types on insight needs that is ideal for an online advisory community.  Having a pre-screened group of consumers ready to engage within a 'multi media ready' online community makes this type of initiative very straightforward and efficient to execute.  We recently helped a client evaluate a dozen video concepts, all in a week.  We've also helped clients with their direct response campaigns.

Video offers a big opportunity for brands.  But the channel is only one aspect.  It is even more critical that the content delivers the desired response from target consumers.